1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mounting structure to mount an outboard motor body on a hull, and relates to an outboard motor vessel provided with the mounting structure.
2. Description of the Related Art
An outboard motor vessel includes a hull, an outboard motor body mounted on the hull, and an outboard motor mounting structure to mount the outboard motor body on the hull. The outboard motor mounting structure includes a mounting bracket that is fixed to the hull, a swivel bracket tiltable around a tilt shaft with respect to the mounting bracket, and a rigging hose. The rigging hose contains flexible connectors, such as operating cables, power cables, signal cables, or fuel hoses, (which are hereinafter referred to simply as “cables” for convenience). The operating cable is a cable that transmits the operating force of an operating device, such as a steering wheel or a shift/acceleration lever, to the outboard motor body. The power cable is an electric cable that connects a battery disposed on the hull and the outboard motor body together. The signal cable is an electric cable by which remote controls and meters that are provided at a navigator seat are connected to the outboard motor body in order to transmit control signals or detection signals. The fuel hose is a hose through which fuel is supplied to the outboard motor body from a fuel tank provided on the hull.
The outboard motor body is attached to the swivel bracket so as to be turnable in a left-right direction. The outboard motor body includes an engine, an engine cover (cowling), a propeller that is rotated by the driving force of the engine, and a driving force transmission that transmits the driving force of the engine to the propeller. The outboard motor includes the outboard motor body, the mounting bracket, and the swivel bracket. Therefore, the outboard motor vessel includes the hull, the outboard motor, and the cables that connect these elements together.
The mounting bracket is fixed to, for example, a stern plate of the outboard motor. A concave portion that is called a motor well is provided on an upper surface of the hull in front of the stern plate, and the rigging hose is joined to a front wall of the motor well. The cables contained in the rigging hose are inserted into the hull through the rigging hose, and extend throughout the hull.
As disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,858,280, particularly FIG. 11, in a typical conventional technique, a rigging-hose mount is disposed at the front of the engine cover, and the rigging hose extends forwardly from the rigging-hose mount.
The front of the engine cover enters the motor well when the outboard motor body is tilted up by turning the swivel bracket around the tilt shaft. As a result, a large tilt angle is realized. On the other hand, the rigging hose moves inside the motor well when the outboard motor body is tilted up and down by being turned up and down and when the vessel is steered by turning the outboard motor body rightwardly and leftwardly. Thus, the connection between the hull and the outboard motor body by use of the cables is maintained while allowing the outboard motor body to turn upwardly, downwardly, leftwardly, and rightwardly. For this purpose, the rigging hose is not designed to connect the outboard motor body and the hull with the shortest distance therebetween, but is designed to secure a length longer than the shortest distance, so that room for tilting and steering is provided.